Wow! I wish I had 30. I only have 3 so far. But I have 20 African violets, so I guess I have enough to do for now. :)

If it isn't one thing its another ;-)

I missed one so make it 31...and counting I guess.

What a great idea using a database. Thanks for that tip. I really need that because when I'm outside in the garden I remember little helpful tidbits I read online about this or that Hoya and then I have to go googling it because I forgot where I read it. I think I'm at about 40+ since I got my order from Thailand recently.

I'm also a succulent lover but I'm amazed at 250, luckily they're low maintenance! Still, kudos to you.

gloria

Yeah, I need to make a database at some point. If only to store care notes and the like! I think I am up to 59 or something now. Sadly, I have a few I am concerned with, will post those on a separate thread tomorrow.

Enjoy your low number count while it lasts. ;)

Yeah, I "have" a database for my succulents but it is so out of date I should start over! Right now I can't figure out how to add to the database. I converted to IMac and I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Probably not. Probably user error.

Have a database, but stopped counting at 270something...lol

Goodness gracious! You people are way ahead of me!

Wow. Not just you. They are ahead of me as well. I've been labeled "the plant lady" but I'm new to the wonderful world of Hoya's. I'm having a hard time. Where can I find places to buy them. The local bigbox stores always have the same thing(carnosa) and often come with mealy bug. Also I want a variegated zz.can someone please help me? !

gardino nursery

etsy

ebay, if you don't mind bidding. i've purchased 1 plant that i didn't have to bid on. if you search hoya on ebay, you'll find many. some people who post here also sell on ebay. they are not just the ones you're most likely to find at home depot, etc.

there are other places, but i've never ordered from them.

I have only a little Bella. She is less than a year old, and bloomed once. I have grown hoyas years ago, and wish I had my old collection, but watching all of yours is really addictive. What a wealth of knowledge!

Bridgette, you can also order from the Violet Barn. They have excellent shipping and a pretty good selection. I bought a pubicalyx from them about a year ago, and it's taking over the apartment! And I know many people on this forum are willing to trade and sell. Not sure about the variegated ZZ though. I didn't even know there was one! :D

I'm not familiar with the one who sell and trade yet still very new but thank you. I only have the carnosa I just bought from Walmart. I got home to find it dripping wet so I tried to remove as much of the soil as I could but some roots were broken. I just wanted to get it in drier soil so it wouldn't rot. Now I'm afraid because this is my third one .evey time I repot they die. I've had plants for 20years now and never had the problems that I've had this past year. Frustrating. I'm sorry for rambling.

so, i'm a newbie as well. but from what i've learned, they need to be in a well-draining mix. i use better gro orchid mix and the gulber orchid mix. both are available at home depot, etc. and it's working well for my clandestina. these mixes are inexpensive - $5 or so. the first time i planted the clandestina, i add potting soil and it started to yellow within 2 days. so i repotted into the orchid mix and the yellowing stopped.

i also have coconut coir i bought from a nursery that i haven't used. i also have volcanic rock/pumice. some people might use this as a mix - together.

one thing i've learned is that the mix can be incredibly simple and basic. one grower told me he uses sawdust, or something like that. you can literally just use a natural mulch. you just need some bark and a fertilizer. that's it.

but search on the forum for potting medium for hoyas. there are threads.

And most Hoya thrive on benign neglect, and indirect light. If you have them in too much sun or leave them to wet they are toast.

Bridgett, don't get discouraged. The EA (Exotic Angel, which is what most of the box stores sell) mix is awful. If you water just right, you can keep them going for a couple years, but eventually, they die. So I try (and it is NOT easy) to repot them into my mix. I use coir and perlite, pretty simple. Orchid bark dries out too fast for me - I don't want to be watering my plants every couple days.

I sell some Hoyas and cuttings - nothing terribly rare, but things you can't find at the local stores. You can reach me through this forum.

Denise in Omaha

Uggh. That reminds me Denise, I have been putting off repotting my giant KQ out of the EA mix. I had better get on that soon I guess. Eep, wish me luck! May have to take a few more cuttings before hand just in case!

Ooh, Denise did you see my inconspicua from you has opened its first peduncle of blooms already? :D

For the EA / Cost Farms Hoyas, a good option at repotting might be to *also* take cuttings and root them - they may survive when the repotted mother plant doesn't, and then you still have a plant of it, and it is of a more manageable size! (Silver lining lol.)

Speaking of counting HOYAS, 170-180 here, definitely *with* a database as well. Selling some of them off this summer, in order to make more space for the remaining ones to grow, and of course to get some other that I cannot live without haha. Exciting plans! (and planTs lol)

a cheap hobby as hobbies go. So much joy and antisapation and satisfaction.

Bridgett Gooden and Harawlins: Regarding variegated ZZ --- we've been testing different selections of variegated Zamioculcas and nothing that we've found has been worth it --- they all revert back to the non-variegated form. It's a plant we'd love to be able to bring you and we're working hard to try and find a good clone.

:-)

---Justin
Costa Farms Horticulturist

Wow! Sounds interesting! Although, I'm very happy with my plain green one.

Whenever I repot an EA Hoya I end up making 3 pots out of the one. It's much easier to handle, I have more plants and they seem to thrive. In the past whenever I repotted to one bigger pot it would eventually die.